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No river delay is necessary

To The Editor:

There's been a lot written lately about Petitcodiac River Restoration and its relationship to improved sewage treatment for the tri-community area.

In light of the most recent Harper-driven scare mongering letter from a local political operative I want to make my position very clear.

I have always maintained that complete Petitcodiac River restoration in the federally sanctioned and provincially funded restoration plan should proceed -- without delay. Sadly the Harper Government through local Minister Greg Thompson has said "NO" to federal funding for this very important restoration project. As well, I am fully supportive of upgrading our sewage treatment facilities and have repeatedly pushed the government to meet the Greater Moncton Sewage Commission's (GMSC) request for infrastructure funds. Again, the Harper Government continues to say "NO" to this important improvement project for our area.

Here's where the politics of Stephen Harper try to muddy the waters. The Harper Government has tried to make a case that the sewage treatment upgrades need to happen before river restoration can proceed. This is simply not the case.

I contacted the Chairman of GMSC who confirmed that river restoration and sewage treatment improvements are independent of each other.

As well, I am informed by The Petitcodiac Riverkeeper that they are in favour of river restoration proceeding immediately -- regardless of whether sewage treatment improvements have been carried out beforehand.

I ask you then, why is the Harper Team trying so hard to make this issue more complicated than it needs to be? Are they trying to get you to forget that their lack of commitment to this region means we need to find alternate ways of funding these important initiatives which may lead to longer time frames than are necessary?

This is not strong leadership or a strong voice for this region. This is the quashing of the will of a community. The tri-community deserves improved sewage treatment and a restored Petitcodiac River. This is what I have been fighting for in Ottawa. I hope you will continue to give me the chance to do so on your behalf -- because it's the right thing to do.

Brian Murphy, MP,

Moncton, Riverview Dieppe